Two earthquakes hit Caucasus, stirring panic in Turkey’s northeast

ISTANBUL

Two consecutive earthquakes which struck Georgia and Armenia have caused panic among residents living in Turkey’s northeastern border provinces.

The first earthquake of magnitude 5.3 rocked the city of Shirak, an Armenian settlement located on the border with Turkey, late on Feb. 13, according to initial data from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center.

A few hours later, another earthquake with a greater magnitude was reported. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Georgia’s southern regions this time, the seismological monitoring center under the Tbilisi-based Ilia State University said.

No casualties have been reported so far, but the string of earthquakes was felt in Turkey’s northeastern provinces, including Kars, Iğdır, Ardahan and Artvin, forcing most locals to stay outside their houses at night.

“Some 70 percent of the locals spent the night outside,” said Ömer Vargün, the mayor of Digor’s Dağpınar town located in the northeastern province of Kars.

While three adobe houses in a village in Arpaçay in the province were slightly damaged, a 14-year-old bo,y who jumped out of the window during the earthquake, sustained a minor hand injury.

Eastern Turkey is a seismically active region and recently witnessed devastating earthquakes.